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Monday, April 11, 2011

Give me Liberty or Give me Pancakes

Throughout April, the ultimate month for DC visitors, H Street has proven itself a welcome refuge from the hordes. So guided by this Sunday's Washington Post Gurus guide to pancakes, we headed up to H Street for the second time this month. And I am happy to relay that the Liberty Tree fits the bill for a laid-back, local, Sunday paper-reading brunch.

They say you can't judge a book by its cover, and this certainly holds true for H Street's New England themed eatery, the Liberty Tree. A jarring bright blue exterior surrounds the front door, which opens onto to a small, square dining room, with standard New England accents, which I know from experience is at once calming and depressing. This dimly lit space is fronted by an ample bar that opens directly to the kitchen. While the Liberty Tree is certainly not in the running for any innovative design awards, the visible and tiny kitchen delivers well-executed plates. The lone server for the almost-full dining room was polite but a bit aloof; determined but a bit inefficient.

The pancakes were impossibly fluffy at well over a quarter inch thick. The stack of three topped with a strawberry apple compote tasted almost as good as my Dad's. I can't help but think this is the New England influence coming into play. And an egg white omelet provided pleasantly flavor-packed surprises; sweet goat cheese was punctuated by salty kalamata olives, green peppers, and plump mushrooms. The accompanying red potato hash browns had just the right amount of char.

While $5 Bloody Marys and Mimosas were on the menu, the aftermath of last Sunday's brunch at the Biergarten Haus was too fresh in our memory to consider imbibing at such an early hour. Bottom line: for under $30 for two this is a good neighborhood brunch bet -- just come armed with the two Sunday P's: patience and the paper.